http://nms.ed.voicethread.com/share/4028047/Ancient Roman Government Corruption

• In the first century BC, buying the votes of Roman citizens had become a common practice.
• The Romans never made an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected. The choice was always open to debate between the old emperor, the Senate, the Praetorian Guard, and the army. Gradually, the Praetorian Guard got complete authority to choose the new emperor. During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination.
• Roman Senators were selfish and self-absorbed, determined to hoard the huge wealth of the empire and enhance their wealth even further. The common people lost all power.
• The powerful, wealthy Roman Emperors(Caligula,Nero,Domitian, etc.) became corrupt. The Roman Empire saw divisions between the Senate and the Emperors. Either the Senate didn't like the Emperor or the Emperors was at odds with the Senate.
• Political corruption was highlighted through actions of paramilitary type as well. Politicians were willing to use all methods to achieve their objectives, including the creation of paramilitary organizations designed to act on their orders.
• Political corruption in ancient Rome showed through organized violence. In the assembly of the people, where the important decisions were made, ordinary citizens could not speak, but could at least inform themselves, hearing the magistrates and senators’ statements at various debates. Besides these popular gatherings, any meeting was considered a rebellion.
• Political corruption was one of the causes that led to dictatorship in the Roman Republic, with serious consequences for society. Julius Caesar became dictator for life and had absolute power. As commander of the army, he eliminated all political opponents with his army. Politically, all positions were filled only with the consent of Caesar.
• The power of the Praetorian Guard, led to political corruption and grew to such an extent that this massive group of soldiers decided on whether an emperor should be disposed of and who should become the new emperor. At one point the Praetorian Guard sold at auction the throne of the world to the highest bidder.
• The senate became extremely corrupt and there was a lot of political instability. A series of very incompetent, rather crazy Emperors were elected and the people suffered as a result. Civil revolts sprung up, lead by rebellious citizens.

• The Corruption Perceptions Index rates countries on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). While no country has a perfect score, two-thirds of countries score under 50, meaning a serious corruption problem.

• Between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion dollars are lost worldwide each year to illegal activities, based on World Bank estimates. Corruption lessens the amount of wealth in a country and decreases the standard of living.
• Modern corruption thrives on these four main circumstances: opportunity, little chance of being caught, bad incentives, and certain attitudes that make people want to disregard the rule.
• The international community is trying to stop corruption by giving assistance to countries with corruption, contributing to corruption-fighting efforts, and trying to prevent corruption in donor-financed projects.
• Organizations around the globe are helping countries recover assets from corrupt leaders, use those assets in development programs.
• Corruption also has environmental problems, through the illegal dumping of dangerous waste and the illegal trade in animal and plant life guided by bribery.
• In the 2012 Corruption Perception Rankings, the U.S. ranks 19th, behind Finland, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Switzerland.
• The U.S Federal Reserve Sent Billions In Bailout Aid To Millionaires and Billionaires in the Cayman Islands. That is corruption of the Federal Reserve.

• How would a government handle a corrupt leader or group of people?
• What could an average citizen do to stop a corrupt leader?
• Why would business leaders be corrupt if they have money from their business?